Minneapolis: City of bikes

Don't be alarmed if Tim Hanson uses the roof of your car as a footrest the next time he pulls up next to you at a stoplight. If he didn't, he wouldn't be able to stay on his bike.

The bike is as tall as he is -- 5-foot-6 -- so he has to hold on to something or risk falling over when he stops.

Hanson is a member of the Black Label Bike Club, a group of about 30 Twin Cities-area riders of tall bikes. The club, which has expanded to include chapters around the world since it was founded in Minneapolis in 1992, is just one example of a subculture within the city's growing cycling community.

"This is pretty much the best city I've ever been to for bikes," said Hanson, who joined the club in 1998.

Minneapolis estimates that more than 10,000 cyclists ride every day on the city's more than 55 miles of dedicated bike lanes and 84 miles of off-street bicycling paths. It's ranked as the United States' No. 1 bike city by Bicycling magazine and the No. 2 bike city by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Clearly, Minneapolis is no ordinary city for bicycles. Or maybe, it's a city of no ordinary bicycles. Beyond the ubiquitous upright bicycles, there are dozens of kinds of bikes that break away from the norm to fit a variety of lifestyles.

Recumbent bikes make one of the biggest departures from traditional bike design, replacing an uncomfortable seat with a reclined chair. Their design makes them more comfortable for riders spending the day on a bike, but have had a stigma attached to them since they became popular in the early '80s.

Other bikes may look normal, but feel very different to the rider. Fixed-gear bikes, used primarily in races until hipsters took them to the streets of New York three years ago, don't allow the rider to coast. The gear is fixed to the axle on the rear wheel, so as long as the wheels are moving, so are the pedals. Many are even built without brakes, making them dangerous when taken off the racetrack and put on the road. "I won't say it's any harder, but it's different," said Jason Lardy, who rides his fixed-gear mostly during indoor bike races. "You're not used to the pedals pushing your feet up."

Whether it's a bike built for competition or cruising, these bikes -- and their riders-- have more in common with your classic upright than you might think.

"It's just a different way to pedal yourself down the road," Nielsen said.

Recumbent bikes

What is it? It's hard to miss what makes a recumbent bike different from a regular street bike: There's a large, semi-reclined chair for the rider to sit in. With pedals in front instead of underneath, riders look like they could be kicking back on a couch with their feet up on an ottoman. Recumbents have been around since the early 1900s, but spent years in obscurity. And if you think their bulk makes them inherently slower, think again: Most land speed records on bikes have been set on highly specialized recumbents.

What is it? These homemade creations are built by welding one bike frame atop another, and by orienting the chain to run from the top frame to the rear wheel. The Black Label Bike Club organizes a few rides every year, but the biggest spectacle is a jousting event in which riders try to dismount opponents in the medieval-style competition.

Why ride it? Because of their size, tall bikes are more visible on the road and offer the rider a better view of traffic, with a line of sight over most cars. But mostly, people ride them because they're different and fun to ride and build. "It's really not a practical thing," Tim Hanson said. "It's just fun and entertaining for us." They do provide challenges, though. To mount a tall bike, the rider must place his hands on the handlebars, get a running start, put one foot on the bottom frame, put his other foot on the top frame and throw his first leg over the seat. Dismounting is simpler, but harrowing nonetheless: Riders slow down before jumping off.

What is it? It looks like a normal bike, but the gear on the rear wheel is fixed to the axle, so the pedals must be in motion whenever the wheels are moving. Their strengths and weaknesses come from the same design point: With just one gear, they're easy to maintain, but can't be shifted to help ascend or descend hills. The rider gets a better feel for the road, especially in wet and icy conditions, but first-time riders have difficulty turning corners while maintaining speed.

Why ride it? Most fixed-gear bikes are used in velodrome races, but hipsters have taken them to the streets, possibly following the example of some New York bike couriers. "There's kind of a close connection between the rider and the bike. You get a better feel for the road by controlling their speed," said Jason Lardy, marketing director for the National Sports Center Velodrome in Blaine.